


Just Come Home

by CoffeeAndSleepDeprivation



Category: The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: But Only a Little Bit - Freeform, Canon Era, During Canon, F/F, Fix-It, Happy Ending, Inspired by Music, The Last of Us Part II Spoilers, Useless Lesbian Ellie (The Last of Us), Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, beta read by grammarly, i wrote this instead of working
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 04:49:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28557885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoffeeAndSleepDeprivation/pseuds/CoffeeAndSleepDeprivation
Summary: Ellie returns to Jackson to try and make amends with Dina and start her life again.Following the events of the final fight, before returning to the farm house.Filling in the time hole and why she is wearing Dina’s bracelet in the house.
Relationships: Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	Just Come Home

**Author's Note:**

> A fic semi-inspired by Where’s My Love by SYML

It was raining when she stepped through the tree line. Trails beat down by horse hooves stretched before her and behind her. She pressed a hand to the tree nearest to her with a labored sigh. Over three years since she’d seen these walls. The wind was starting to chill and as she hiked she’d crunched through fallen leaves. 

Ellie took another deep breath of the crisp autumn air. It wasn’t too late to turn back. She could live in the old farmhouse and leave it all behind. Let the world think that she was no more. But instead, she trudged her feet down the muddy slope, the ground sucking on her sneakers as she went. Would the gates even open for her after so long? She slowly approached the tall doors. 

“Hey! What’s your name?” the man standing watch said.

Ellie looked up at the wooden catwalk above the gate, “It’s Ellie!”

“Say no more!” He leaned back over the railing to look down at the people below, “Open ‘em up!”

There was a loud groan as the doors slowly swung open. She took a step through and was suddenly overwhelmed by the feeling of home. For the first time in years, she’d stepped from unknown territory into the safe walls of Jackson. Even at the farmhouse, there was always a lingering feeling of uneasiness. Being out in the open on that hill didn’t exactly have that same feeling of security that twenty-foot tall walls gave. A few people waved at her and some said hello as she passed through to the stables. She stopped outside the stall that was once Shimmer’s. That horse had been so good to her. The horse now in the stall was named Ireland according to the clipboard hanging on the wall. It also said she didn’t have a full-time rider. Ellie hummed to herself with a thought. Maybe that should change. 

She exited the stables and started down the main road before realizing she had no clue where she was going. Dina probably moved into one of the bigger houses since she has JJ to take care of now. Ellie looked over at the tavern, bustling with life, where she knew she could ask someone. Damn. She did not want to ask for directions. She swallowed her anxiety, flexing her shaking hand a few times before walking into the familiar building. As she made her way to the counter, a few people mumbled her name but no one approached her directly. She had almost worked up the courage to reluctantly ask Seth when she realized who was playing cards at the nearby table. 

Cat laughed loudly, slamming her hand onto the table, “Read ‘em and weep boys!”

The guys she was playing with groaned as she grabbed her winnings and stood up. She started maneuvering towards the door and Ellie followed in her trail. She didn’t want to yell and draw more unnecessary eyes to her so she just followed her to the door and out. 

“Cat!” She called after the woman. 

She turned and her eyes went wide, “Ellie? You’re back!”

She rushed forward and pulled Ellie into an awkward hug. After a moment she mumbled into her shoulder, “Are ex-girlfriends supposed to hug?”

Ellie shrugged, “I don’t really care.”

Cat released her friend, “Glad you’re home.”

Ellie wasn’t much for small talk so she cut right to the chase, “Where’s Dina’s place?”

Cat pointed down the road, “Make a right, second house on the left side. Neighbors with Jesse’s parents.”

Ellie nodded her thanks before waving goodbye and trudging down the street. She made the right turn and suddenly felt a weight settle on her shoulders. Dina probably had someone new. She could get any guy, or girl for that matter, to fall at her feet with a single word. If there was anyone in this town she was into, they’d be wrapped around her finger in an instant. Dina said she wouldn’t wait for her. It had been months since Ellie left. 

Ellie’s feet came to a halt at the bottom of the stairs to the house. She looked up at the structure feeling a sense of dread. Like a prisoner on death row before their execution. Either Dina was in that house, happily in love with someone new, or she was going to hate Ellie’s guts for ever thinking she could come back. Ellie took one step forward and then another. The only way to find out was to ask. Her feet carried her to the door and she found the strength to knock. There were a few light barks from inside and shuffling footsteps. Dina got a dog? The doorknob turned and with a rush of air from the swinging door, Ellie came face to face with Dina.

For a second neither spoke until a small puppy came barreling into Ellie’s ankles. Dina scolded the dog, pulling him back inside and closing the door behind her. 

“Sorry about Rex. Still trying to get him to stay inside.”

Ellie shrugged it off, “It’s fine. He’s cute.”

Dina smiled, “Yeah. JJ was so excited when I brought him home. He hasn’t been that happy since…”

She trailed off. Ellie could fill in the blank as Dina looked down at the ground. 

Ellie let out a huff, “Dina I know you said you wouldn’t wait but… but I’d like to come home.”

Dina scoffed as crossed her arms, “I’m not stopping you from coming back to Jackson.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Ellie scuffed her toe against the porch, “I meant I want to come back to you. You and JJ. You’re… Dina, you’re my home.”

Dina felt her eyes grow watery, “Ellie, you left us. You left me! I asked you to stay. To let it all go. But you left. And you went after her. Again.”

“I know! And it’s the biggest fucking mistake I’ve ever made,” Ellie responded.

“So you didn’t find her? Is that why you came back.”

“No. I found her.”

Dina hesitated, “So you finished it? She’s dead? Are you happy now?”

Ellie shook her head, “I let her go.”

Dina didn’t reply. 

Ellie looked up and Dina had her head in her hands. Ellie reached forward and pulled her into a hug. Dina shook as she cried into Ellie’s shoulder. Ellie rubbed gentle strokes against her back, refusing to let go until Dina wanted to. When Dina pushed herself away from Ellie’s shoulder, her cheeks were coated in tears. 

She placed her hands on the sides of Ellie’s face, “I promised myself I wouldn’t give in so easy. I promised I’d tell you how much it hurt me and scared me to see you leave.”

Ellie felt her own vision go blurry as Dina continued. 

“But I’m just so happy you’re home.”

Dina pulled Ellie forward and into a long kiss. Dina’s lips were soft like Ellie remembered and the hands on her face were rough with calluses. She placed her hands on Dina’s hips with a sigh through her nose. After a moment that they felt lasted forever, there was a crash from inside followed by Rex barking. 

Dina pulled back, “That would be JJ getting into the pantry again.”

Ellie let out a small laugh. Dina pushed open the door and held it open for Ellie to follow. 

“It’s no farmhouse but its home,” Dina said, leading her through the entrance hallway. 

Ellie dropped her backpack and hung her coat on a hook. Dina left Ellie alone as she hurried to clean up whatever mess their son was making. Rex came scampering up to Ellie, licking the hand she held down with zeal.

Ellie chuckled and wiped her hand on her pants, “Gross, Rex.”

The little brown dog yipped and ran in a circle before dashing back into the house the way Dina went. Ellie took her time walking past the stairs and into the living room. There was a couch on one side and a TV on the other. A few movies were stacked on an end table along with some video games. Ellie picked up a few, turning them over. Most of them were familiar titles. 

“Hey, did you raid my video games?”

“Possibly!”

“Should never have given you a key to my old place,” she mumbled. 

She set the games down and walked through into the kitchen. There was an island with chairs around it and simple counters and appliances. It was much nicer than Dina’s small place and somehow nicer than the farmhouse. Ellie leaned on the counter and watched as Dina cleaned up the oatmeal JJ had spilled on the floor. The box was closed and back on the shelf while she desperately tried to clean faster than Rex could. Ellie felt something latch onto her leg and looked down to see JJ. 

“Hey there kiddo,” she said with a smile. 

“Ellie’s home!” the toddler yelled. 

“You can talk now?” Ellie said, heaving the small child up from her leg to sit on the counter. 

He laughed and reached out to tug on her hair. 

Dina groaned as she threw away the last of the oatmeal, “Ellie, I told him no sitting on the counter. You’ve been home five minutes and already you’re a bad influence.”

“Or maybe your mama is just a stickler,” Ellie said, looking at JJ. 

He giggled again and Ellie put him back on solid ground. 

“I only took your movies and games so the rest of your stuff is still at your place,” Dina said, turning back to her girlfriend. 

Ellie nodded, “Sounds like moving stuff would be a good use of my time.”

She spent the afternoon packing up her clothes and favorite things and using an old shopping cart to get them to Dina’s. More people recognized her and said hello as she went and Ellie was much happier to reply now that she’d talked with Dina. The hard part was over. Dina made Ellie put away everything as it came in. 

“I already have enough clutter around the house with a toddler. I don’t need your clutter too.”

Ellie gave a mock salute to Dina as she passed followed by a light kiss on her cheek, “Yes, ma’am.”

Once her things were finally moved, the sun had begun to set. She locked up her old place for probably the last time and took a small detour on her way home. The cemetery was empty, the last rays of sun dancing over the tombstones and making it look eerily calm. Ellie stopped at Jesse’s first. She knew the grave below was empty, just a headstone over an empty casket of some of his things. They’d buried him back in Seattle. Despite all that, Ellie knelt before the stone and rested her hand on it. She didn’t say anything. Everything she wanted to say had already been said. She stayed a minute before standing and moving back a few rows. 

Joel’s stone was darker than it was the last time she’d been here. Someone cared for the cemetery, she knew that, but even touch-ups couldn’t keep the forces of nature from leaving marks on the stone. Scratches and scrapes covered the old stone. Ellie knelt in front of the stone as she had Jesse’s and placed a hand on the top. Years ago she’d wept on this ground and cried over this stone. Today, she smiled at the name. A memory hummed through her mind. A quiet song played on a guitar. About losing oneself when someone else is lost. They say time can heal. They lied. Time doesn’t heal. People do. They pick themselves up and they find someone to lean on and they heal. 

“It took time but I found myself, Joel.”

She brushed a bit of dirt off the top of the stone before standing and leaving the cemetery. Ellie walked back to the house, a light mist coating the land warning of the incoming rainstorm. Dina was sitting at the table helping JJ cut his chicken. There was a place at the table for her. 

“First time I’ve ever had to set three places,” Dina said as Ellie sat down.

“You never have company?”

Dina shrugged, “I’m more of an ‘I’ll come to your house so you can do the dishes’ type of gal.”

Eating dinner with Dina again was so new and yet so normal. Ellie didn’t feel out of place at the table. They passed around the broccoli and the chicken and tried not to laugh when JJ dropped his veggies to the dog. It was the first meal Ellie ate in a long time where she left with a full stomach. Dina let JJ play for a little longer before carrying him upstairs to bed. He wouldn’t go to sleep until he got a kiss goodnight from Ellie too. They quietly closed the door and walked down the hall to their bedroom after finally getting him to sleep. 

Dina stretched her arms over her head and flopped back onto the bed, “Normally I stay up later but I think we’re both a little tired today.”

Ellie nodded and joined her on the mattress, “I forgot how damn good it feels to sleep on a mattress.”

Dina cuddled close against Ellie’s chest, “Tied up all your loose ends?”

“Almost.”

“What’s left?”

“I want to go to see Tommy and Maria.”

Dina nodded. 

“And I want to go visit the farmhouse one last time.”

Dina perked up, “Oh! I almost forgot.”

She slipped out of the bed and walked over to the dresser, digging through the clutter for something. She found what she was looking for and returned to the bed. Dina pulled Ellie’s right arm onto her lap and tied a bracelet around her wrist, finally noticing the bandaged stumps where her fingers used to be. She gently brushed a finger over them before letting Ellie move her arm. She ran her hand over the bracelet that had long been missing from its place. 

“I think I hoped you’d be back so I kept it for you,” Dina said, snuggling next to Ellie again. 

“Thank you,” Ellie replied, kissing her forehead. 

Dina sighed, “You can go to the farmhouse if you really need to. But no running off again.”

She tilted Ellie’s face to look at her, “Just come home.”

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve had this idea for months. I have read so many theories as to what happened with Dina and Ellie so I decided to write my own version to fill in the time gap.  
> Hope you all enjoyed! If you did, leave a comment or a kudos!!! <3


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